


Neither Straight Nor Narrow

by embroiderama



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coming Out, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-25
Updated: 2013-11-25
Packaged: 2018-01-02 16:00:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1058760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embroiderama/pseuds/embroiderama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A misunderstanding leads to a sudden new understanding between Jared and his co-worker at the college library.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neither Straight Nor Narrow

**Author's Note:**

> This is very silly, but I had fun with it. It was inspired by a flister's misunderstanding, which I found utterly charming and awesome.

Jared had liked the phrase “straight but not narrow” ever since he heard it on some TV show back in high school. Nobody ever really said what it meant, but he figured it was a cooler way of saying something like bi-curious—just, less like tipsy girls making out at a party and more like, “Hey, no big deal about a hand job between friends.” It made sense.

And Jared thought it was a good way to describe himself because he really liked girls—really liked sex with girls, the handful of times he’d managed to get that far—and he hadn’t done anything with guys other than a quick grope with a friend at camp when he was fourteen. About 90% of the people he was attracted to were girls so he figured it was a good way of defining himself. Straight but not narrow. Exactly.

The only complication was that now Jared was in his second year of college, he had a work-study job at the library, and kept ending up working with a guy who was throwing off that percentage. Jensen was just one guy, yeah, but he was gorgeous and gay and almost single-handedly populating Jared’s X-rated daydreams. Jensen was kind of a quiet guy, but Jared had got him talking enough to know that he was single, and he was almost certain that he had caught Jensen watching him a few times in an interested sort of way.

The problem was that Jared had no idea how to ask out a guy. He was decent at asking out girls, and even in high school when he’d been totally inexperienced it had been okay because the girls had been on the same level. Jensen, on the other hand, was two or three years older and apparently had been with guys before, and Jared was sure that he would utterly humiliate himself if he tried to hit on Jensen. He didn’t think that Jensen would yell at him or anything, but he imagined getting the kind of silent, blank stare Jensen turned on rude library patrons, and he knew he’d end up running away with his tail between his legs. And really, not only would he have to quit his student worker job he’d have to transfer to another school because how was he supposed to finish his classes without ever going to the library again? It would be a mess.

The best solution Jared could come up with was to convince Jensen into asking _him_ out without actually making his intentions too obvious in case Jensen wasn’t interested. He tried to make it clear that he liked Jensen, being as friendly and happy as he could possibly be—which was really freaking friendly and happy. He wanted Jensen to understand that he was kind of interested in guys but not so much that he had any experience, so he tried to casually drop a mention of his “straight but not narrow” status into conversation as often as possible. Still, weeks went by without Jensen asking him out, and it was frustrating as hell.

Jared saw a sign by the elevators that the Sexual Minority Student Union group was having a big party, and when he was sorting new books in a back room with Jensen that afternoon he brought up the subject.

“So, hey, you know about the Halloween party the SMSU is hosting?”

“Uh-huh.” Jensen looked up and gave Jared a smile, but he didn’t say anything else.

“So…are you going to go?”

“I don’t know. Why does it matter?”

Jared shrugged and swallowed hard, trying to work up the nerve to be a little less subtle about his interest. “Just, you know, I, you know, I’m straight but not nar—“

Jensen sighed explosively, dropped the book in his hand and rolled his eyes. “I know. I know! You’re straight but narrow. Congratulations! I’m glad you’re so tolerant of us not-straights, but I’m not sure why you’re so proud of it that you have to tell me. All. The. God. Damned. Time. What is your deal, Jared?”

Jared blinked and considered resorting to the whole running off with his tail between his legs thing then rewound the conversation. “But—but—I mean, are you mad because I’m not totally gay? Because that’s kind of not cool.”

Jensen shook his head and scratched at the back of his head—where the hair looked so soft that Jared wanted to touch it in totally inappropriate ways. “What. _Exactly._ Do you think 'straight but not narrow' means?”

Jared wasn’t aware that there was any confusion about what it meant. “Just, you know, that that I’m mostly interested in girls but that the idea of being with a guy is kind of good, too.”

Jensen laughed, and Jared was torn between being entranced by Jensen’s smile and the little crinkles next to his eyes and being offended that Jensen was mocking him. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, man. I just—“ Jensen laughed harder then, so hard that he actually bent over and put his hands on his thighs while he breathed through it. Jared crossed his arms over his chest, and when Jensen stood back up he had the decency to look like he was actually sorry.

“I don’t really get what’s so funny.”

“I know, and that’s—never mind. The thing is, when people say they’re straight but not narrow, they mean that they’re not narrow-minded. They don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay, but they’re actually straight themselves. As in, not attracted to people of the same sex. At all.”

 _Not narrow-minded._ That suddenly made a lot of sense, and all Jared could say was, “Oh.”

“Yeah, so, obviously it’s great when people are straight but not narrow because I definitely appreciate it when people don’t think I’m a freak for being gay. On the other hand, when there’s this really hot guy who’s smart and nice and who acts like he’s flirting with me, it feels like kind of a dick move when he keeps putting it in my face that oh, hey, he’s not actually interested in men at all.”

Jared was busy thinking about how he'd never heard Jensen say so many words all at one time when his train of thought ground to a halt and straight into reverse. He started to smile, and he knew it was one of those really big, dorky smiles he tried to keep a handle on, but he just couldn't help himself this time. "Really hot, huh?"

"Uh, yeah." Jensen stuck his hands in his pockets, and the slight blush that pinked up his cheeks only made his eyes look greener. "And nice, especially now that I know you weren't trying to be all, 'Hey, let me remind you how straight I am!' And smart, even if you got that one thing wrong." Jensen shrugged. "But, uh, if you're mostly into women why are you flirting with me?"

"Because, see, ever since the beginning of the semester what I've been _mostly_ into is you. But I didn't want to make a move because I've never--" Jared gestured back and forth between them. "You know, done anything."

"Ah." Jensen raised one eyebrow and shot Jared a wicked look then jogged the few steps back to flip the lock on the door to the little room they were working in before striding back over to stand right in front of Jared. He tilted his head back just far enough to look Jared in the eye, and this close Jared could see a disconcerting number of freckles on Jensen's face, like a tan-on-beige version of the starfield screensaver and Jared thought he could stare and stare forever. "Is that something you want to change?" Jensen asked, and Jared blinked, trying to figure out where exactly they were in the conversation because he definitely didn't want to change Jensen's freckles.

"You mean--yeah. Yes. Yeah."

Jensen put his hand on Jared's shoulder then, tugging Jared closer, lower, and when their lips touched Jared opened his mouth, letting in Jensen's tongue, his taste and heat. Kissing girls, in Jared's experience, was all about softness--lips kept soft by gloss or lipstick, velvet-smooth skin, soft hands, everything. Kissing Jensen was different in every way, from the dryness of his lips to the slight scrape of stubble on his chin, and even his tongue felt rougher, stronger. Jared put his hand on the back of Jensen's head and found the softness he'd imagined earlier, short, shorn hair that felt as plush as fur, the heat radiating from the nape of Jensen's neck.

Jensen moaned into Jared's mouth, and Jared startled as he felt Jensen push their hips together, Jensen's erection obvious through the worn-thin cotton of his jeans. Jared pulled back and looked down at the clear line of Jensen's hard-on and back up at Jensen's flushed face. "Can I?" He asked, reaching out to touch.

"You want to?" Jensen looked around like somebody might be watching, but the door was locked, and Jared knew that the grad student who was supposed to be their supervisor would be busy in a chat room with his girlfriend. Jensen nodded slowly, popping the button on his jeans with his thumb. "I can do you first if you want?"

"No, man." Jared reached out tentatively to touch Jensen through his jeans, and when Jensen reacted with an in-drawn breath, his eyes fluttering closed, Jared knew he wanted more. He pushed down Jensen's zipper and slipped his hand down between Jensen's stomach and his underwear until he could wrap his fingers around the heavy warmth of Jensen's cock. It was like touching himself in reverse, and he was just as hard as Jensen, his jeans uncomfortable tight until he reached his free hand in to adjust himself.

Jensen closed his eyes as he leaned back against a low filing cabinet, just enough to give Jared more room to work, but Jared kept his eyes open. He watched Jensen's face, gauging what felt best by what made Jensen bite his lip, what made his eyelids tremble, what made him open those lush lips to pull in an unsteady breath.

"Fuck," Jensen said under his breath. "I'm gonna--" He came in a hot splash that hit his belly and Jared's fingers, and Jared was already so close, his balls aching from watching Jensen come apart under his hand. He reached back into his pants, jacked himself once, twice and came in his boxers. He leaned forward into Jensen, who stumbled then balanced himself on the filing cabinet. Jared panted into Jensen's neck, smelling his soap or aftershave or whatever it was that made Jensen smell like he had a second job harvesting pine trees.

"I--" Jared said, trying and failing to put together a coherent thought. "Um--"

"So, definitely not narrow then?" The humor in Jensen's voice was gentle, and if he was still laughing at Jared a little bit, Jared really didn't mind.

"Definitely not narrow." Jared stood up straight and went to run a hand through his hair then realized that both of them were sticky with semen and couldn't help laughing at himself. "Or straight. None of the above, man."

"Welcome to the club," Jensen said, and Jared had a feeling he wasn't going to need to go to that SMSU Halloween party alone. 


End file.
